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Muharram, the Indian way
Muharram?s moral is the same as in how the virtuous Lord Rama fought against the tyrannical Ravana, the only difference being that Hussain was martyred while Rama slew Ravana.
Falling on Ashura, the 10th day of Muharram (which is the first month of the Hijri calendar), the anniversary called "Muharram" recalls the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain. As the son of Prophet Mohammed’s beloved daughter Fatimah, Hussain was his grandfather’s favourite. But the 61st year of the Hijri calendar (638 AD) proved tragic for Muslims when Muawiyah, ruler of Syria enthroned his tyrant son Yazid. He obliterated the Nizam-e-Shoora (democracy), wreaking havoc on commoners. Yazid wanted Hussain’s consent to his atrocities and even tempted him with rewards. But Hussain said that his subservience was only to Allah. He was consequently slain on the battlefield of Karbala by Yazid’s soldiers, who then trampled his mortal remains.
That’s why in Muharram processions, Shias beat their chests, heads and backs with sharp metallic chains and recite elegies called marsiyas to recreate the physical torture and mental anguish of Imam Hussain and his followers. Yet, these self-inflicted wounds miraculously heal without medication. Our Sufi saints and Shi’ite ulema encouraged the merging of indigenous elements from the rich cultural heritage of India in their followers’ practice of Islam. That’s why our Muharram is like nowhere else in the world, conveying both the message of peaceful co-existence and of not yielding to the authority of those who unjustly have an upper hand on things.
Muharram’s moral is the same as in how the virtuous Lord Rama fought against the tyrannical Ravana, the only difference being that Hussain was martyred while Rama slew Ravana. Etchings by Italian artist Bruno Cabrini show how Muharram processions had tazias in the shape of rathas during the 18th and 19th centuries in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Even the Scindia rulers of Baroda and the Holkars of Indore conducted majlis. In Lucknow even today, Hindus join Muslims in mourning sessions. Most Hindus greet these Muharram alams reverently just like they receive Ramlila processions, as the passing-by of a holy memory. Indeed Varanasi, the heart of Hinduism, has a mixed tradition of observing Muharram: many Hindu families participate with their Muslim brethren by fasting that day.
